


Bark at the Moon

by Threadbare_Storyteller



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Age Difference, M/M, Oblivious Derek, Oblivious Stiles, Slow Burn, Top Derek Hale/Bottom Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-15
Packaged: 2018-12-01 20:47:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11494452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Threadbare_Storyteller/pseuds/Threadbare_Storyteller
Summary: After high school, Stiles decides to take a GAP year while the rest of the gang heads off to college (or elsewhere) to carve their own path in the world. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving Beacon Hills behind. He didn't understand how everyone else could leave so easily, especially considering everything they had been through. He gets a hectic job to fill his time, and ends up receiving a strangely welcome late-night phone call from Derek Hale. Maybe being left behind in Beacon Hills won't be so bad after all.





	1. Prologue

To say that Stiles was exhausted was a drastic understatement. He was so tired that he could probably comfortably sleep for the next week and a half straight. The first week at his new job had been overwhelming. He didn’t know exactly how hard being an animal control officer would be when he applied for the job. He honestly thought he would get to play with puppies all day. After years of corralling werewolves, he didn’t think regular non-supernatural animals would pose that much of a threat to his physical or mental well-being. Boy was he wrong.

While Scott and the rest of the gang headed off to various colleges, Stiles couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Beacon Hills all alone. He knew he would have to eventually, but he convinced his dad to let him take a GAP year. His dad decided to give him a break. After graduation, Stiles didn’t have any plans. He knew he didn’t want to leave Beacon Hills, but other than that he had nada. On top of that, he was alone for the first time in his life. He had his dad, but all of his friends were at least three hours away. His dad was the one that originally told him about the job opening. Beacon County Animal Control worked closely with the sheriff’s departments spread throughout the county. Because of his dad, Stiles pretty much had the job in the bag as soon as he applied. There were three total ACOs for the town of Beacon Hills. There were a few other animal control shelters in the rest of the county, but Beacon Hills Animal Control managed all of the pets belonging to the 30,000 people living within the town.

During Stiles’ first week on the job, he encountered a rabid raccoon, a puppy trapped in a sewage drain, a cow that someone had decided to coral in their garage, and a cat hoarder. Those were just a few of the more outlandish calls he received. There were a ton more “mundane” calls that he also had to deal with. His dad certainly didn’t make him aware of just how physically and mentally demanding the job was. Because he was the newbie, he got the sucky shifts. Weekends, nights, you name it. His sleep schedule was so out of whack. The good part was, he only worked four days and had three days off. He was going to cherish the heck out of the next three days.

It was late in the night on Sunday when he got home. His dad’s patrol car wasn’t in the driveway, which was weird since his dad hadn’t been working weekends. He didn’t hear anything crazy come across the radio, but maybe they were working on some undercover bust. He parked his jeep and willed his legs to carry him from the driveway, up the porch steps, and inside. He took off his boots and headed upstairs. Once he was finally in his room he didn’t waste any time taking off his uniform. When he was fully disrobed he collapsed on his bed.

He audibly sighed as he sunk deeper into the pillow top mattress. He originally had plans to come home and shower, but he decided it could wait until later in the day. Right now all he was focused on was falling into a sweet slumber. It didn’t take him long to drift off. He wasn’t sure if moments or hours had passed, but before he knew it, he was woken up by the trilling sound of his cell phone ringing. He cursed out loud and scrambled off the bed to retrieve his phone from his pants’ pocket. It was still dark outside, so he knew not much time had passed since he drifted off.

“I swear, if dispatch is calling me I’m going to flip. I’m. Not. On. Duty.”

He awkwardly reached for his pants without climbing all the way out of the bed. It probably would have been a lot easier if he would have simply crawled out of the bed, but Stiles was the master at making things more difficult than they needed to be. He fished the phone out of the pocket and a local number flashed across the too bright screen. He didn’t think it was dispatch, or anyone from the sheriff’s office for that matter. He thought about chucking his phone back down on the ground and going to back to sleep. Then he thought about his dad, and the lack of the patrol car in their driveway, and thought better of it. He would feel like a major dick if it was his dad on the other line, and he didn’t answer it.

He swiped the green phone icon, “Hello?”

There was silence on the other end for a few moments. “Hello? Is anyone actually there?” Stiles paused. “If not I’m totally hanging up.”  
There was another few seconds of silence before a familiar voice came across the line. “Hey, uh, is this Stiles?”

Stiles swallowed. He knew immediately who he thought it was. What he didn’t know was why Derek Hale would be calling him after midnight. Things had been quiet. He doubted this was a supernatural emergency.

“Uh, yep, sure is. And this is?” Stiles didn’t really need to ask, but his brain told him to anyway.

“It’s Derek.” There was a brief pause. “Look, I’m sorry to bother you so late. I’m back in town and Scott gave me your number. I wasn’t sure if you would answer.” He paused again, like he was choosing his words carefully. “I didn’t realize everyone else was gone until Scott told me.”

Stiles couldn’t help but to laugh. He heard what Derek had said, but he knew it roughly translated to ‘I didn’t realize they would just leave you behind.’  
“They went off to college Derek, what did you expect? I didn’t expect Scott, or anyone else, to stick around Beacon Hills because I’m too stupid and stubborn to leave.” Stiles hoped he didn’t sound too bitter. It was _his _choice to stay behind after all.__

____

__

Stiles thought he heard Derek growl. “You’re not dumb for staying where you’re familiar Stiles. I don’t blame you for not leaving.”  
It was silent for a while. Stiles wasn’t sure what to say. Was Derek Hale really just calling because he felt sorry for Stiles? Things were too quiet and, for a moment, Stiles thought Derek might have hung up. Then he heard a throat clear on the other end of the line.

“Look, uh, I know we were never really close, but we were pack. I plan on sticking around for a while. I’m renting a place near the preserve. If you ever want to talk, or hang out, it would be nice to get together.”

Stiles never really pegged Derek for the friendly sentimental type. “Um, okay, sure. That might be nice.”

Derek chuckled. “You can say ‘no’. You don’t have to hang out with me if you don’t want to. I just figured I’d extend the invitation.”

“No, I want to, totally. It’s just that I just started this new job and it’s kind of crazy.” While it was true, Stiles knew that was a pretty lame excuse. He thought for a moment. He didn’t have anyone else to hang out with. Maybe it would be nice to meet up with Derek. “I guess it would be nice to see a familiar face. Maybe we could grab lunch tomorrow, er, uh, much later today?”

Derek chuckled. “That sounds good to me. Just text me with a time and a place and I’ll meet you there.”

“Sure. Yeah. I’ll text you later.”

“Okay Stiles. Get some sleep, you sound tired.” With those final words, the call disconnected.

Stiles sighed. That was pretty weird. He knew Scott had heard from Derek every now and again, but he didn’t think Derek cared enough to reach out to the rest of the “pack”. He certainly didn’t want Derek’s pity, but maybe Derek Hale was as lonely as Stiles. With the rest of the gang gone, there weren’t a whole lot of people left in Beacon Hills that really knew the truth. It wasn’t like Derek had any family in the area either. Stiles felt a pang in his chest. Derek didn’t have anyone. Stiles was the only person left in Beacon Hills that would be remotely close to a friend.

He shook his head. He was far too tired to try to figure out the inner workings of Derek Hale’s mind. He desperately needed to sleep or else he wouldn’t be able to function enough to go to lunch tomorrow. He turned his phone to ‘silent’ and plugged it into the charger. He sunk into his bed again, and within moments he was back in dreamland.


	2. A Weird "Non-Date" Lunch Date

When Stiles woke up sunlight was drifting steadily through his bedroom window. He reached for his phone and the screen indicated it was a little after nine in the morning. He stifled a yawn and debated on going back to sleep for a couple more hours. He weighed the pros and cons of staying in bed in his mind until he remembered the strange phone call from nearly nine hours ago. Did Derek Hale really call him last night? Stiles shook his head. It had to have been a dream. He grabbed his phone again and thumbed through the recent calls. Sure enough there was proof that the call had actually taken place.

A million thoughts ran through Stiles’ brain. Did he really agree to go on a lunch date with Derek Hale? His brain replayed what he could remember of their conversation. He totally did agree to go out to lunch with Derek. As in the same brooding alpha wolf that used to throw him around and give him a hard time. Stiles could remember when Derek left Beacon Hills. The whole gang (himself included) figured the wolf was gone for good. Derek really had to be a glutton for punishment to keep returning to a town that offered him nothing but headaches and heartbreaks.

With that final thought, Stiles’ hesitations melted away. It wouldn’t be so bad to have a buddy in the Beacon, even if that buddy was a sometimes scary and all-the-time-intimidating werewolf. Scott and Isaac were only a few hours away, but their hectic schedules only allowed them to come home on the occasional weekend. Allison was studying abroad for a couple semesters, and Lydia was across the country in Boston. Stiles’ best bet for companionship for the time being was Derek.  
He stayed in bed for a few minutes before he could muster the motivation to actually get up. When he finally did roll out of bed, he tripped over his uniform that he had unceremoniously left on the floor the night before. He cursed before finally making his way to the bathroom. He thought of all the places in town that might be good for lunch. He didn’t think Derek would want to meet anywhere too ritzy, but for once in his life Stiles was definitely not in the mood for fast food. He could go for some greasy and unhealthy food, sure, as long as it wasn’t McDonald’s or Carl’s Jr. By the time he had “taken care of business”, showered, and brushed his teeth he decided on Jake’s Diner for lunch. He was probably way overthinking the whole thing, but now that he got acclimated to the idea of hanging out with Derek, he didn’t want the wolf to bail because he didn’t like the venue Stiles chose. 

He got dressed in a plain grey shirt, dark jeans, and a comfortable pair of Converse. He didn’t see the point in looking pretty. It wasn’t like this was an actual date. It was just like a friend’s date. Wait, was Stiles really considering this as a sort of weird non-date, date? He shook his head. His demented brain was reading into this way too much. Derek called him to hang out and catch up, that’s it. Why would Stiles even be considering the miniscule possibility that this meet up could lead to anything more than having a friend back in Beacon Hills. The more Stiles thought about it the more he thought about just how hot and unapproachable Derek actually was. Then he thought about the fact that it would be just him and Derek hanging out all alone. That wasn’t so weird, right? It would be just two sort-of-friends catching up for old time’s sake. Derek probably didn’t even “swing that way”. Even if he did, the boy doubted Derek would be interested in him. 

 

Stiles shook any more-than-friendly thoughts of Derek out of his head. First he was unsure about hanging out with Derek, and now he’s making up impossible scenarios. Last time Stiles checked, Derek didn’t like him all too much. To Derek, Stiles was Scott’s ever-annoying tag along. Stiles might have aided in saving Derek’s life a time or two, but they weren’t friends, let alone anything more than that. He retrieved his phone from the night stand where he left it when he got out of bed, and thumbed to ‘recent calls’. He quickly saved Derek’s number under ‘Sour Wolf’ and sent him a short text. 

Stiles: ‘Jake’s on W Mountain Rd @ 12:30? See u then?’

He waited anxiously for a reply that came several minutes later. 

Derek: ‘Yeah, sounds great.’

Stiles sighed and ran his fingers through his chocolate colored hair. He had about an hour to kill before he had to head into town. He decided to text Scott. Stiles knew he was probably in class by then, but since when did Scott pay attention in class?

Stiles: ‘u gave derek my number???’

Scott replied moments after. ‘Yeah hope u don’t mind. He said he was back in the Hills.’

Stiles: ‘no its cool. we’re meeting up a little later. just seems weird without everyone else’

Scott: ‘I hear u dude. Although I’m glad u will have someone to talk to besides your dad and my mom lol’

Stiles laughed but chose not to reply. He knew it was selfish, but he was relieved that Scott was still looking out for him while he was supposed to be enjoying his college experience. Stiles looked out the window and his dad’s patrol car was back in the driveway. He must have been called in last night. Stiles couldn’t think of any other reason his dad would have been M.I.A at midnight. To try to kill some time, Stiles decided to scroll through Facebook. Generally Facebook frustrated the hell out of him, but sometimes it was nice to see how his friends were doing without feeling like he was bothering them by texting or calling. From her updated profile picture it looked like Lydia was getting pretty serious with her boy toy from M.I.T. Stiles was a little shocked that she and Jackson decided to break it off for good when they went their separate ways after high school. Both were oddly mature about the break-up too. He was glad Lydia was seemingly happy.

Allison had posted some inspirational quote along with a picture of some gorgeous European river view. There were a few other people he knew from high school that went to college, or were having kids, or getting engaged, or whatever else it is you’re expected to do after you become an “adult”. Stiles sighed. He was a little bitter that everyone else was going on with their lives while he was stuck moping in the past. Admittedly, he was proud of himself when he got the job at animal control. He knew it was mostly because his father’s influence, but at least he was doing something with his life. 

He didn’t understand how everyone else could just be so “normal”. A few of his friends were actual supernatural creatures and they were living a more normal life than he was. He didn’t get it. Even with all the near-death experiences, he missed the way things used to be. Years ago it seemed like they had life figured out. It was just a waiting game to see what big bad would be drawn to the beacon next. Now Stiles had his whole relatively normal life ahead of him and that scared him more than Kanimas and werewolves ever would. 

After a while of monotonous scrolling, he decided to give up on the Facebook venture. It was getting close enough to the time he was supposed to meet Derek; he might as well go ahead and leave. He slipped on a hoodie just in case it was a little chilly outside, and headed downstairs. His dad wasn’t awake yet, which was weird. That probably meant that he didn’t get home until the wee hours of the morning. Stiles felt bad for him. If it wasn’t for the fact that he already had plans, he probably would have made his dad a super unhealthy breakfast to make up for the fact that being on call sucks. 

He thought about writing his dad a note, but thought against it. It wasn’t like he was in high school anymore. Besides, he knew his dad wouldn’t be elated knowing that he was going to hang out with Derek Hale. Stiles also couldn’t write that he was going to see a friend because his dad would call him out on that lie. Stiles didn’t have any friends left in Beacon Hills. There was no point lying to him about being called into work, because his dad could easily check the CADs. If his dad was too worried, he would text Stiles when he woke up. 

On the way out the door, Stiles’ stomach growled. That’s what happens when you sleep in and have to meet someone for lunch. Maybe next time they could get breakfast. If there would even be a next time. Stiles wouldn’t be surprised if Derek decided to forgo the whole “friend” thing once he actually sat down and talked to Stiles again. Sure, the boy wasn’t that bad to be around, but he didn’t figure him and Derek had a whole lot in common with the pack gone. Maybe Derek would just be glad to hang out with someone who knew his secret. 

The ride to the diner was pretty uneventful. He showed up twenty minutes early, but he headed inside anyway. It would probably be more awkward to hang out in his car like a creep. The waitress was nice, and she smiled politely when Stiles told her he was waiting on someone. She got him a Coke and Stiles sipped on it as he waited. He recognized her as a girl he went to high school with. She was pretty in a natural sort of way. She reminded him of Lydia, just with not as much make-up. Stiles couldn’t remember if the girl was popular in high school or not. She was a senior when he was a freshman. He wondered if she was also bitter that she was left behind in Beacon Hills? Would he still be stuck here in four years like she was? The thought made him uneasy. 

He waited alone for a while and eventually fished his phone out of his pocket to look at the time. It was 12:37. Maybe Derek decided not to come after all? Before he had time to overthink it, Derek walked through the door. Stiles hadn’t seen him in a couple years, but he was pretty much exactly like he was when he left Beacon Hills. He scanned the diner until his eyes fell onto Stiles sitting alone in a back booth. His lips turned upward, but it wasn’t quite a smile. For some reason, Stiles’ stomach flipped. Seeing Derek in his entire muscly-leather-jacket-wearing glory brought back a lot of memories. Some not all too pleasant, but they were good for the most part. 

He sat down on the bench across from Stiles. The booths were sort of small, and Stiles wanted to kick himself for not getting a table. Stiles and Derek were roughly the same height, but Derek had muscle mass that Stiles wouldn’t dream of having. He wasn’t the same lanky high school kid he was, but he was far from “muscular”. 

There was a moment of silence that stretched out before Derek spoke. “Sorry I’m late, I forgot exactly how long it took to get here from the preserve.”  
Stiles shook his head. “No worries dude, I’m just glad you didn’t bail.”

Derek chuckled. “You’re the one that didn’t sound so sure on the phone last night; I honestly figured you’d text me and tell me you couldn’t make it because of ‘work’”.

Stiles could hear the air quotes around the word “work”. He knew using his job was a lame excuse.

“What do you do anyway? If I remember correctly, there’s not a whole lot to do in Beacon Hills.” 

Stiles cleared his throat. “I’m, uh, an animal control officer.”

Derek raised his brow and was quiet for a moment before he started laughing. “You’re joking, right?”

Stiles shook his head. “Nope. I’m totally serious.”

Derek actually smiled. “The irony of that isn’t lost on me, okay. That’s like Scott being a werewolf and working at Deacon’s clinic.”

Stiles chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it is pretty ironic.”

The waitress came back at that moment and handed them both menus. She looked a little surprised that someone actually showed up and sat with Stiles, let alone Derek Hale of all people. She kept smiling at Derek and it was clear that she was trying to flirt with the man. Stiles swallowed hard. He was sure Derek was used to being flirted with. He was overly attractive, and had always been as far as Stiles knew. 

She came back a few minutes later with Derek’s water and a refill for Stiles’ Coke. 

“Do you guys know what you’d like?” She asked, enunciating the word ‘like’ while eyeing Derek heavily. 

Derek was still looking at the menu so Stiles spoke up. “I’d like a cheeseburger deluxe, uh, rare if you could please.” 

The waitress jotted that down. “Anything else?” She was still being polite, but she certainly wasn’t trying to flirt with Stiles. “Yeah, if I could get a side of curly fries too, that would be great.”

The waitress nodded and turned to Derek. “And you sir?”

“I’d like the same, but no onions, pickles, or ketchup on the burger.” 

The waitress smiled. “Anything else?”

Derek handed her the menus without paying her too much attention. “Nope, I’m good. Thanks.”

She finished writing down their respective orders and left their table. Thankfully the place wasn’t too busy. Stiles wasn’t sure if he was in the mood to deal with too many people. After the amount of citations he’d written last week, he probably wasn’t the most popular person in Beacon Hills. 

“So…” Stiles began before he trailed off. He wasn’t sure what exactly to talk about, and he was sure Derek didn’t have a clue either.  
“What brings you back to Beacon Hills?” He asked finally. 

Derek sighed. “I guess I just missed being home. I don’t know if I could ever spend too much time away from this place.”

Stiles nodded. He certainly understood that sentiment. 

“Why didn’t you go to college like the rest of the group?” It was Derek’s turn to ask a question.

Stiles shrugged. “I didn’t like the idea of leaving Beacon Hills right away. I guess I’m too attached, just like you.”

Derek smirked. “I don’t think that’s a good thing.”

Stiles smiled. “I definitely know it’s not. I had a hell of a time convincing my dad to let me take a GAP year. He wasn’t too keen on the idea of me missing out on a full year of schooling. Honestly though, I’m not sure I even want to go to college.”

“Do you want to be an animal control officer in Beacon Hills for the rest of your life?” Derek questioned. It wasn’t an accusatory question, just a curious one. 

“I’m not sure what I want really. I kind of miss how things used to be. This is going to sound so messed up, but life seemed a lot easier when I was focused on trying to stay alive and passing classes. At least I knew what my goals were.”

Derek was silent for a moment. Stiles could tell he didn’t know what to say. Maybe he could relate? Did Derek even have a life outside of the paranormal?

“So, uh, your place near the preserve. Is it nice?”

Derek shrugged. “I guess so. It’s not bad. It’s too big for me though. I saw it online and decided to rent it thinking the spare rooms could be used by the rest of the pack. I knew that they would want to do their own thing, but I didn’t think they would want to leave so soon.”

Stiles imagined Derek as some sort of odd empty nester. He didn’t really see Derek as a father figure, but he knew some of the rest of the gang definitely saw him as an authoritarian or as a sort of weird werewolf role model. He understood why Derek would be upset that no one clued him in on their plans for the future.  
“Yeah, sorry no one told you. You and I never really talked before or I could have filled you in. Honestly, I think Scott was really the only person that knew where you went.” 

Before Derek could say anything, the waitress was back with their food. Stiles’ stomach growled and Derek raised a brow. 

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Uh, probably lunch time yesterday.”

Stiles heard Derek audibly ‘tsk’. “It’s not good to skip meals like that. Especially in your line of work. You need to have your energy to chase down dogs.”

The waitress sat the food down in front of them. It looked really good. Stiles was super glad he picked this place. 

The waitress directed her attention at Derek once again. “Let me know if you guys need anything.” The word ‘anything’ was too drawn out to not have a double meaning. Stiles felt uneasy for Derek. The waitress was really trying to get his attention. He was either doing a really good job of pretending not to notice her advances, or he was legitimately unaware that she was flirting with him. Maybe Derek was just used to everyone acting this way towards him. 

“I’m good, Stiles do you need anything?”

Stiles shook his head. “No, thank you.”

The waitress pouted slightly before leaving the table. She had fair skin, pretty auburn hair, and a petite frame. Stiles wouldn’t have blamed Derek if he would have flirted back. 

They were quiet as they ate. Stiles practically devoured his food. He looked over at Derek a couple times to see the man staring intently at him. Instead of saying anything Stiles pretended not to notice, and avoided looking in the wolf’s direction as he shoved curly fries in his mouth. Maybe Derek was appalled at Stiles’ lack of proper dining etiquette?

Derek ate slowly. Stiles was done before Derek had even finished his burger. The man shoved some of his curly fries onto the boy’s plate. Stiles thought it a little weird, but he didn’t complain. The curly fries at Jake’s were to die for.

After they were both done eating, Stiles stacked their dishes and sat them at the edge of the table. Scott always used to make fun of him for doing that, but Derek just helped him stack the silverware on the plates. 

“When do you go back to work?” Derek questioned. 

Stiles took the final drink of his coke and put his glass near the edge of the table along with the neatly stacked dishes. 

“I work 4/10s, so I have off today and the next two days.” 

Derek nodded. “This was nice. I’m not sure what you have planned for the rest of the day, but maybe we can hang out a little later?” 

Stiles waited a moment for answering, pretending to consider the offer. “Yeah, okay. I should probably do some laundry, but other than that I don’t have any plans.”  
“I have to run a few errands while I’m in town, but I was actually planning on making dinner tonight. You can come over if you want?” The wolf paused trying to gauge Stiles’ reaction. It was clear they were both trying not to come across as too overeager. “I got this video game system thinking you guys would be there anyway. I have no idea how to hook it up. Maybe you could help?”

Stiles thought it sounded a little too much like an awkward second date, but he agreed. “Sure thing. I’m sure dad would be happy to see me out of the house. He has to be getting tired of me walking around the house in my boxers and taking up all the space on the couch.” 

Stiles neglected to say anything about how unhappy his father would be if he knew he was hanging out alone at Derek’s new house all the way out near the preserve.  
The waitress came back with the check and looked to Derek. “Thanks for stacking the dishes. Hardly anyone does that. That’s awfully considerate of you.”  
Derek motioned toward Stiles. “You should thank him; he’s the one that did it.”

She really looked at Stiles for the first time since she took his order. “Thanks, that’s super nice of you.”

Stiles felt weird receiving thanks for such a miniscule task. “Yeah, don’t worry about it.”

“So, I wrote everything up on one check. If you guys are paying with separate credit cards I could write out two?” 

Derek shook his head and dug his wallet out of his pants’ pocket. “Don’t worry about it, just use my card.”

Stiles was about to interject, but the waitress took Derek’s card and went back to the register. He fished out his wallet and he only had $2 and some change on him.  
“Look man, I don’t have any cash but I’ll pay you back tonight.”

Derek smirked. “Stiles I asked you to come to lunch, it’s my treat. Don’t worry about it.”

Stiles put his wallet away. “I don’t feel right taking your money, I’ll pay you back.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “I promise it’s not a big deal. I’m not letting you pay me back for a $12 burger.”

Stiles didn’t think there was any point continuing to argue with Derek. He seemed to have his mind pretty made up.  
“Okay, well I’ll buy next time.”

The waitress came back and Derek signed the receipt and handed her some cash for the tip. Stiles thought for sure the waitress was going to ask Derek for his number, or continue to flirt, but she graciously accepted the tip and left the table. 

Derek followed Stiles outside to his Jeep. 

“You’re still driving this thing? It was in pretty rough shape years ago.”

Stiles huffed. “Yeah, tell me about it. She’s cost me more money in gas and repairs in the last six months than buying another car would have. I’ve replaced most of the major components. She’s like a brand new beast now.”

Stiles fished the keys out of his hoodie pocket and unlocked the Jeep. “Thanks for buying me lunch dude, I appreciate it.”

“Don’t worry about it, really. It was nice to see a familiar face. I’m looking forward to hanging out tonight too. That house is crazy lonely. Do you have a preference for dinner?”

Stiles shook his head. “Nope. I will eat pretty much anything.” He paused. “That is as long as it doesn’t still have a face. I don’t think I’m down for eating Bambi or Thumper.”

Derek snorted. “Duly noted. I’ll see you later Stiles.”

Stiles watched him round the corner before he hopped in his Jeep. His lunch “date” with Derek was simultaneously the best and the strangest thing that happened to him lately. He wouldn’t openly admit it, but he was seriously looking forward to hanging out at Derek’s place for dinner.


End file.
